The Leafs were preparing for a much-anticipated rematch against Radko Gudas and the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night when MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley announced the organization was parting ways with general manager Brad Treliving. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just shocking,\u201d said centre John Tavares. \u201cI think whenever you receive the news it\u2019s shocking and you\u2019re just disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA little shocking, to be honest,\u201d echoed winger Matthew Knies. \u201cPretty abrupt. You know, not much of a notice right before the game. I feel like it was pretty close to the game, so not really enough time to digest it and think about it, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head coach Craig Berube broke the news to his players just before warmups were set to begin inside the Honda Center. The coach stressed the need to remain focused, and his players delivered in a penalty-filled 5-4 overtime win against the top team in the Pacific Division. <\/p>\n
But after the game the gravity of what happened to Treliving set in. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave me an opportunity here and I feel like we let him down this year,\u201d said Berube, who was hired by Treliving ahead of the 2024-25 season. <\/p>\n
\u201cObviously it\u2019s sad,\u201d said winger William Nylander, who was signed to the richest deal in franchise history (eight years, $92 million) by Treliving. \u201cJust shows what we did this year wasn\u2019t good enough. That sucks because that comes on the players too. It\u2019s not just his fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a hugely disappointing season for the Leafs, who sit 11 points out of a playoff spot with seven games remaining. Toronto\u2019s nine-year run of playoff appearances is about to come to an end. <\/p>\n
And Treliving\u2019s tenure in Toronto has ended after three seasons at the helm.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn times like these, how I feel is that it\u2019s on the players,\u201d said defenceman Morgan Rielly, who is the longest-serving Leafs player. <\/p>\n
The Leafs had high hopes entering the 2025-26 season after finishing first in the Atlantic Division and pushing the eventual champion Florida Panthers to Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs. It was the longest playoff run in the Auston Matthews era. <\/p>\n
After last season, Pelley parted ways with Brendan Shanahan and did not name a new president. <\/p>\n
Mitch Marner departed for Las Vegas in a sign-and-trade deal with Treliving trying to use the new salary cap space to change the DNA of a team that got blown out 6-1 in its last two home playoff games against the Panthers. <\/p>\n
But the Leafs struggled out of the gates this season and never seemed to gain much traction.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrad brought us all in here, tremendous belief in us, and we just didn\u2019t deliver,\u201d said Tavares, who was signed to a four-year extension by Treliving last summer. \u201cIt falls on us, starting with myself, and just not playing consistent enough, and what we need to do to be a better hockey team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The DNA change never seemed to take hold with Treliving expressing disappointment after no Leafs players on the ice immediately confronted Gudas after the Ducks defenceman ended Matthews\u2019 season with a knee-on-knee hit on March 12. <\/p>\n
During a downbeat media session on trade deadline day, Treliving took responsibility for the team\u2019s poor performance and acknowledged some roster construction issues. And now he\u2019s paid the price with his job. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s difficult,\u201d said Berube. \u201cIt\u2019s still difficult right now for me, but that\u2019s the business and that\u2019s what happens. We didn\u2019t live up to expectations this year and that\u2019s what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s starting to set in, and I wish him the best of luck,\u201d said Knies, who was signed to a six-year extension by Treliving last summer. \u201cI thought he was an unbelievable person. He got to know me really well, and, you know, I cherish that relationship we had.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Pelley due to address the media on Tuesday afternoon in Toronto, Berube was asked if he\u2019s thinking about his future with the team. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think about it, guys,\u201d the 60-year-old insisted. \u201cI mean, I really don\u2019t. You probably think I\u2019m bulls–ting you, but I\u2019m not. I feel for Brad right now and his family. That\u2019s what I feel right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tuesday is a day off for the players. The team is scheduled to practice in Anaheim on Wednesday before heading to San Jose ahead of Thursday\u2019s game against the Sharks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Leafs were preparing for a much-anticipated rematch against Radko Gudas and the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532790,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5106],"tags":[4759,60319,5,34145,20,5172,35233,4,66,31,32467,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-532789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-craig-berube-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8445440","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-john-tavares-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8475166","12":"tag-maple-leafs","13":"tag-mapleleafs","14":"tag-matthew-knies-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8482720","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-toronto","17":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","18":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-10","19":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116323874602019819","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}